Posted: March 20, 2005 -- 10:30 AM
Last updated: March 25, 2005 -- 10:30 PM

Narrative from Chris and Dave Hunter:
Sunday, March 20, 2005 4:15 PM

We had great fun and a very interesting ride. The trip from Inyokern to Olancha was uneventful except for a very light mist and breakfast in Olancha was good.

After we left Olancha is when the fun started. We rode through about 30 miles of dense fog. Stan was in the lead and did a great job of getting us all through to Panamit Springs. We all kidded Stan that if he had run off the road he wouldn't have been alone because the fog was so bad that we would have followed his tail light right over the side. The group split up at Panamit Springs with 6 bikes continuing on the Longstreet. Town Pass into death Valley was also foggy but not as bad. We stopped in Stove Pipe Wells for a well needed rest stop and potty break. Stovepipe Wells was very crowded and Bob and Ann waited in line forever to secure a gas pump for those that needed to top off. Bob put down enough money so that 4 bikes could each get $5.00 of gas each and make it into Beatty. We were quite a sight with 4 bikes surrounding 1 pump.

With empty bladders we continued on to Beatty for fuel and snacks. Fortunately we didn't encounter any more fog and only some occasional mist. However, by the time we reached Beatty several of us were chilled to the bone as the whole trip to this point had been very chilly and the dampness only made that worse.

In Beatty we stopped at the Nut house for more snacks Fuel and passed around a few chemical heat packs to those in need of additional warmth.

The rest of the trip to the Longstreet was very nice as the clouds were breaking up and the view of the mountains was great. Bob and Ann had a room downstairs that opened out into the back of the Casino where the pond was so we had our Wine Cheese, and Roses (Graciously provided by Stan for all of the ladies) in their room with a great time had by all.

The ride back was much better with sunshine and warmer weather. At Stove Pipe Wells we stopped in search of breakfast but soon discovered that we arrived too late for breakfast and 45 min too early for lunch.

Tom and his girlfriend wanted to be back in time for the ABATE meeting so Chris and I decided to keep them company and hit the road. The rest stayed in Stovepipe Wells waiting for the restaurant to open.

While the weather was sunny for the trip home via Trona the wind was not as pleasant. We had a good headwind from the Wildrose Rd cutoff all the way to Ridgecrest but we made it without incident.

As the wind was picking up I am sure that the 4 remaining bikes will have it worse that we did with a gusty head wind.

Those that continued made the complete trip to the Longstreet were: Chris and Dave, Stan and Barb, Dennis and Debby, Clint and Tommy, Ann and Bobby, and Tom and his girlfriend Ebe. (sp?)

For the trip to Olancha we had 2 AV riders, Hans and Dale.

Dwight made it to Inyokern but had to leave and rescue his daughter whose car broke down.

All and all it was a great trip and a great time was had by all in spite of the fog.

Dave and Chris.

P.S. Ann and Debby took several pictures so you should be getting a lot of nice photos from them.

P.P.S Chris and I were getting some flack over our hot chocolate topped with a generous amount of whipped cream so we posed proudly for Barry's camera to show that not all bikers drink coffee. :)

Many thanks to Chris and Dave...for this great writeup!

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